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P. H. RICHARDS. ENVELOPE BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM.

No. 340,245. Patented Apr. 20, 1886;

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F. H.-.RIG HARDS:.. ENVELOPE BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM.

No. 340,245. Patented Apr. 20, 1886.

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F. H. RICHARDS. ENVELOPE BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM.

No. 340,245. I Patented Apr.'20, 1886.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4. F. H. RICHARDS. ENVELOPE BLANK-FEEDING MEGHANIsMi No. 340,245. Patented Apr. 20, 1886.

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FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, SPRINGFIELD, MASS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THE PRATT & WHITNEY COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONN.

ENVELOPE-BLANK-FEEDING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Iva 340,215, dated April 20, 1886.

Application filed January 31, 1885. Serial No. 154,578. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANOISH. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Envelope-Blank-Feeding Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying four sheets of drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a plan view of a mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly in section, the top plate and the parts thereon being removed. Fig. 4 is a vertical section in line a a, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 shows the relation of certain details as seen from the back side of the machine, this being at the right hand in Fig. 4.

Similar characters designate the same parts in all the figures.

This invention relates to that class of blankfeeding mechanismsin which the pile of blanks is replenished at the bottom while the pickers are taking blanks from the top thereof.

2 The object of the invention is to provide improved mechanism whereby that operation may be conveniently performed and each blank-supporting plate may be operated independently of the other.

To this end my invention consists in certain improvements and combinations, which will first be described in connection with the drawings, and afterward pointed out in the claims. Referring to the drawings, A designates the frame-work of this mechanism, which may be a projecting or other part of the frame of an envelope-machine, and is conveniently made box-shaped, as shown, to contain the intermediate shafts and gearing. c A is a top plate, which forms the cover of frame A, and to the top of which the usual guides are fixed for holding the blanks in proper position laterally. These guides are four in number, arranged in two pairs, of which 5 one is at the front, (marked G,) and one at the back, (marked G All of these guides usually have a slight adjustment on the top plate, being held down by screws 2 and washers 3, which washers are clamped by the screws onto the base 5 of each guide. The front guides each consist of the base 5, a post, 6, rising from said base, alaterally-projecting arm, 7, and the aforesaid guide G, attached to said arm, these parts being separate pieces connected together or made in asingle piece, as may be preferred. 5 The back guides, G rise directly from their bases, but have in this case, as they usually do in practice, an outwardlyprojecting arm,

8, Fig. l, for holding the separator device. This device consists of an arm or lever, 99, piv- 6 oted to said arm 8 at 10, and provided with separator-fingers 11, which may be clamped therein by screws 12. Springs 13 are provided to produce a slight downward pressure of the fingers onto the pile of blanks, being fixed to 6 arms 8 and 7, and having points l4 bearing on said levers 9. (See Figs. 1 and 2.)

' P designates a pile of envelope-blanks in proper position for the gummer J to take up blanks therefrom, the pile, as shown, being nearly exhausted.

B is one of the blank-supporting plates, shown in position for holding up pile P, and at the uppermost point of its vertical. travel.

B is a similar blank-supporting plate, (shown 7 in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2,) which is shown in position for receiving the pile of blanks P". These blank-supporting plates are respectively each upheld by a similar set of vertically-movable'plate-lifters, R and R 8 Each set of lifters consists of three rods arranged in a triangular form, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

For communicatingasimultaneousandequal vertical motion to all the lifters in a set, a horizontal rod, M, for lifters R, and N for lifters R", is provided and arranged to slide in bearings formed in the'frame.

Underneath and at right angles to rods M and N are the revolving shafts S S and a fixed 9o shaft, S, carrying a system of gearing intermediate to said rods and lifters. Each rod has rack-teeth 15 upon it, which mesh into a gear on shaft S, andinto another on shaft S in Fig. 3 a part of rods M and N is broken away the better to show the arrangement of the gearing. Rod M meshes into gear 16, which is fixed on shaft S, and into gear 17, which revolves loosely on shaft Shaft S has two gears, 18 and 19, each of which meshes into rack-teeth on one of the front lifters R, (see Fig. 3,) and gear 17 has secured thereto a is shown in the drawings in its extreme forgear, 20, which meshes into similar rack-teeth l on the rear; lifter R. Rod N meshes into gear 21, (similar to gear 16,) which is loosely fitted on shaft S between collars 22, and into gear 25 on shaft S which is similar to gear 17. Gear 21 has fixed thereto a gear, 24, which mesheswith another and similar one, 26, fixed on shaft S. This shaft has two gears, 27 and 28, fixed thereon, each of which meshes into rack-teeth on one of the front lifters B and gear 25 has another, 29, (similar to gear 20,) which meshes into rack-teeth on the rear lifter R. The relative proportions of the members of these systems of gearing are such that when either of the rods M and N are drawn forward the set of lifters connected thereto will all be raised up equally. It is desirable, also, that said rods shall move somewhat faster than the lifters, so that the operator can control the elevation of the pile with greater ease and v the end flaps, 45.

accuracy.

I do not limit my invention to such gearing 1 having precisely the arrangement described, for this may be modified in several ways; but the said arrangement is the best one that I have thus far been able to discover.

The rods M and N have ratchet-teeth 30 on their upper sides, whereby they are automatically fed forward. For this purpose a rockshaft, S", carried on brackets K, and having arms 31, is provided with feeding-pawls 32, and with holding-pawls 33, which operate in the usual manner. Said shaft has an oscillating motion imparted thereto through connecting-rod 34 and arm 35, from some suitable member of the envelope-machine, of which this blank-feeding mechanism may in any par-. ticular case form a part. The extent of said motion should be sufficient to move pawl 32 through the distance of one of the teeth 30, and a little in excess to insure certainty of action. The rods M and N are each provided with a handle, H, whereby they may be operated by hand. Said rods have been described as having a horizontal sliding movement, but they may also have, and as herein shown do have, a rotary motion of about ninety degrees for the purpose of disengaging pawl 32 from notches 30, handle H being then in position H Fig. 5. In order that said rotary motion may not also disengage said rods and the gears 16 and 21, the rack-teeth 15 are made to extend around these rods somewhat more than one-fourth of their circumference, as shown in the section of rod M at X, Fig. 3. By turning rod M in the direction there indicated by the arrow teeth 30 are turned down to one side and surface 40 brought under the feeding and holding pawls. Then said rod may be moved by hand forward or backward at any point of its stroke and thrown into engagement with the pawls by simply turning it back to its original position-that is, with handle H hanging down, as in Figs. 2 and 4. Rod M ward and rod N in its extreme rearward position. At its back end teeth 30 are cut away at 41, so that pawl 32 cannot feed said rod any fart-her, thus' making an automatic stopmotion to limit the feeding up of plate B. In its extreme backward position the forward notch, 42. of notches 30, stands at 41, (see Fig. 4,) so that the pawls (since they touch asmooth part of the rod) cannot feed along the rod at all until it has first been drawn forwardashort distance by hand. By this means the operator can more conveniently place the plate B and the pile of blanks P in position.

The blank-supporting plates may have any shape to adapt them for being upheld by the lifters and for holding the pile of blanks, said shape depending somewhat, of course, on the shape of the blanks they are to hold. In Fig. 1, B represents a convenient form for these plates, having fingers 44 for supporting Springs J 2 (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1) are fixed to the under side of the plates, to hold them with some little force to their proper position on the top of the lifters by clasping the sides of said lifters, substantially as indicated at 46.

J designates gummers attached to a crossbar, Z, which is fixed on the lower end of the upright Y. These parts .I Z Y are or may be the same as the parts so designated in United States Patent No. 221,835, dated November 18, 1879, to which reference may be had. Upright Y corresponds to picker a,

and shaft S to shaft 8 in United States Patent No. 284,483, granted to me September 4, 1883, and for automatically operating said shaft from said upright or picker I may employ, in connection with my present improvements, substantially the same mechanism as shown and described in my said patent.

The operation of my improved envelopeblank-feeding mechanism is as follows: One of the blank-supporting plates, as B, is placed in position 13' on the lifters R, which then stand down. A pile of blanks, as P, is then placed on plate B, and the plate with said pile on it is lifted up till the top of said pile is at the point shown in Figs. 2 and 4. l The envelope-machine being now started up, the blanks are taken one at a time from the top of the pile, the plate being fed up in the meantime by means of the mechanism described. While this is going on ,the operator places plate B in position on lifters R and pile P" placed thereon. Rod N is now drawn forward, lifting-plate B until pile 1? reaches plate B, as at position 50, when this plate is pulled out, letting the remainder of pile P rest on pile P. Rod M is turned to disengage the pawls and slide back, lowering the lifters It, and plate P is again placed on them and another pile of blanks on that, to be fed up as before. In this way the machine may be run continuously, the blanks being fed at convenient intervals.

It should be understood that I am not limited to the use of any particular number of lifters R or R, nor to the use of the spur-' gearing shown for connecting them together,

as both may obviously be modified and arranged in various ways without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The sliding rod M and the parts immediately driven by and driving the same constitute a mechanical-movement which I have described and claimed in anotherapplieation, Serial No. 175,828, filed August 31, 1885.

Having thus described my invention, I claimv 1. The combination of a set of lifters, R, rod M, and connecting-gearinginterposed between said rod and set of lifters, substantially as described.

2. The combination of plate P, lifters R, and springs J substantially as described.

3. The combination of a plate, as B, vertically-movable lifters upholding said plate, a sliding rod or part, as M, provided with ratchet teeth, means, substantially as described, for operating said lifters from said part, and a ratchet mechanism, substantially as described, for operating said part, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of'one mechanism consisting of plate-lifters, and devices, substantially as described, for operating them, with another and similar mechanism consisting of substantially duplicate lifters and devices, said mechanisms being each adapted to be operated independently, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of one mechanism consisting of lifters R, rod M, and intermediate gearing, substantially as described, with another and similar mechanism consisting of lifters R, rod N, and intermediate mechanism, substantially as deseribed, said mechanisms being each adapted to be operated independently of the other, substantially as set forth, and for the purpose described.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS. Vitnesses:

H; W. FAULKNER, O. O. PALMER. 

